LED Torches

[shoota 0]

i have a led lenser which i use on my 22 rimfire it is spot on only takes 4 aaa batteries but like the lads said you are only short distance shooting with it the beam will only go 50 to 75 yards it depends how far you want to shoot :-)

[irish lad 0]

The best advise I can give you is DO NOT be taken in by all the advertisement crap you read in the magazines. Bottom line is that only two components really make a difference and that's the type of LED and the reflector, all the other bits are simply there to look nice.

I read an advert in an airgun mag, £175 for a 700 lumen LED torch Look on deal extream and you can pick one up for £15 and it's just the same LED & lens as in the £175 but may not look as tactical. I have one firmly placed on my .22rf and it's very good. The only comparison I can give, is the beam is exactly the same as you get with one of the rechargeable 12v hand held lamps that were doing the rounds a few years back.

 

Another worth a look is the MTE red LED torch, good right out to 100 yards with a pure red beam, no filter needed and less that £8

 

One thing I would say is that the good torches do not use AAA or AA batteries, so you will need to invest in batteries and a charger.

 

I have an LED lenser (police) which I used to think was good, but the 700 lumen (advertised as 900 lumen) kicks ass!and quarter the price

 

John

what one is the £15 one cheers

[HUnter_zero 58]

what one is the £15 one cheers

 

 

Obviously I haven't been clear. There are only a couple of LED manufactures who make high power LED's and there are only a couple of high power LED's. In other words it makes little difference which torch you buy, they will all have the same hardware in each "class" or type of LED.

 

So, do a search for 900 lumen flashlight and look at the reviews and make your own mind up which one you wish to buy. I did just that. It the case of 900 lumen, (SSC P7) or if you wanted to duplicate a well know lamp (700 lumen) you need to look for a MC-E LED or look at one of these :

 

Bit like a Deben

 

 

 

John

Edited January 22, 2011 by HUnter_zero

[cookey 1]

what one is the £15 one cheers

 

 

Obviously I haven't been clear. There are only a couple of LED manufactures who make high power LED's and there are only a couple of high power LED's. In other words it makes little difference which torch you buy, they will all have the same hardware in each "class" or type of LED.

 

So, do a search for 900 lumen flashlight and look at the reviews and make your own mind up which one you wish to buy. I did just that. It the case of 900 lumen, (SSC P7) or if you wanted to duplicate a well know lamp (700 lumen) you need to look for a MC-E LED or look at one of these :

 

Bit like a Deben

 

 

yes and a fraction of the price might get me one

 

 

John

 

 

 

[HUnter_zero 58]

 

yes and a fraction of the price might get me one

 

 

As I say, the bottom line is that there are only a FEW types of high power LED's and if you see a tactical torch advertised, then make it your business to find out what type of LED it has, then check out Dealextreme, search for the same LED and you will have the same lamp. It's a bit like car head lights, they all use more or less the same bulbs it's just the shape that differs. Double check what others have said about the reflectors (the second and last most important component in a lamp) and make a decision. You can also order lamp brackets and pressure switches, in fact I ordered an extra two brackets and switches today for less than £10. While your at it, order a charger and batteries. Total cost should be under £30 which may save you well over £150.

 

Enjoy.

 

John

[cookey 1]

yes and a fraction of the price might get me one

 

 

As I say, the bottom line is that there are only a FEW types of high power LED's and if you see a tactical torch advertised, then make it your business to find out what type of LED it has, then check out Dealextreme, search for the same LED and you will have the same lamp. It's a bit like car head lights, they all use more or less the same bulbs it's just the shape that differs. Double check what others have said about the reflectors (the second and last most important component in a lamp) and make a decision. You can also order lamp brackets and pressure switches, in fact I ordered an extra two brackets and switches today for less than £10. While your at it, order a charger and batteries. Total cost should be under £30 which may save you well over £150.

 

Enjoy.

 

John

 

wish i knew this 3 weeks ago when i bought this

http://www.deben.com/gun-lights/tracer-max-pro-lithium-polymer-gunlight.html could of saved my self a lot of £££££

 

 

 

[staffs riffraff 1,068]

nice one john

[HUnter_zero 58]

wish i knew this 3 weeks ago when i bought this

http://www.deben.com/gun-lights/tracer-max-pro-lithium-polymer-gunlight.html could of saved my self a lot of £££££

 

 

No, not at all. LED torches will not compare to the above incandescent lamp with regards to a 400 meter beam. I have several lamps here and a lot of LED torches each has it's own time and place. I've seen the LED torches advertised in the shooting press, some claiming 300 meter beams, okay you will get light reflections at 300 meters and more but that's not a usable 300 meter beam. To be honest I'm rather passionate about lamping rabbits, it's something I've been doing since I was eleven years old. Back then we had to make our own lamps because there wasn't any commercially available, these LED torches are streets ahead of anything that I had back then.

The major benefit of a LED torch is no wires, no fuss and it's compact but in no way will it ever replace a proper 12v lamp, especially for foxes.

My input in to this thread is simply to save people money, I get really wound up when I see companies jumping on the band waggon and charging people extortionate amounts of hard earned cash. Dealextreme is one of many sources for LED torches, it's fair to say that the over all build quality isn't going to be as high as a UK manufactured torch but it's also fair to say if you spend a little time looking, you will find out where certain big retailers are buying and re-branding their torches

 

John

 

Also: Whilst on the subject of saving money. Most of these torches use 3.7v 16850 type batteries. The best source for these are old Laptop battery packs Go to your IT dept in work or call in to a PC repair shop and ask if they have any old laptop battery packs, break them open and you should find ten or so of these batteries inside, one or two will be dead but the rest will charge up and keep the full charge. Obviously don't go paying for the battery packs!!!

Edited January 23, 2011 by HUnter_zero

[Fidgety 8]

I find the LED lights great for spotting or close range, but the light they emit is cold and will not show detail like a "proper" bulb. As HZ says, great for picking out relective stuff, but to properly identify quarry at distance??

[Colster 1]

I find the LED lights great for spotting or close range, but the light they emit is cold and will not show detail like a "proper" bulb. As HZ says, great for picking out relective stuff, but to properly identify quarry at distance??

 

So true and the minute a little bit of mist comes in, forget it. Whereas a good Halogen/Xenon bulb will hold up.

[subwoofer 13]

I also have the Luxeon K2 based torch from DX. It is a good bright torch and so far haven't found anything to beat it on output and low size/weight.

 

DX customer service is great, but you have to know there is a problem. After buying one of these, I wanted a second one. The second one arrived, but was about half the brightness. I only knew this because I had the first one. Once I sent the a photo of the two beams, they sent me another one which was fine. With such a cheap supplier, reliable quality can be an issue. You might want to buy two to check (and have a spare / second). Sometimes I use two to give more light.

 

I have just ordered a similar torch using the Cree P4 Red LED. This is supposedly twice as efficient (twice the light output for the same input current)and looks to have a tight hotspot. If this is better than the K2 LED I'll report back.

 

Other than that there are some specialists on Candlepower forums who make custom LED modules to drop into a P60 host (the Ultrafire WF-501B is a P60 host and uses an 18650 battery). But these start at around $50 and I haven't found anyone yet who can compare it to the K2. I might go for it a try at some point, just not quite yet.

 

All of the above is referring to RED LEDs, not white. I find the pure red output from a red LED better than a filtered light.

 

I also have various white LEDs in P60 hosts which perform very well, but that is another story.

Edited January 27, 2011 by subwoofer

[subwoofer 13]

Also: Whilst on the subject of saving money. Most of these torches use 3.7v 16850 type batteries. The best source for these are old Laptop battery packs Go to your IT dept in work or call in to a PC repair shop and ask if they have any old laptop battery packs, break them open and you should find ten or so of these batteries inside, one or two will be dead but the rest will charge up and keep the full charge. Obviously don't go paying for the battery packs!!!

 

I'd just like a add a quick note here that the 18650 is a lithium battery and does require some care when using them as they can be very dangerous. Improperly treated cells can explode or start burning, and with lithium, nothing will really put it out once it starts.

 

It is important to monitor the voltage. Don't use any where the voltage is below 2.75V, recycle these. And never charge above 4.2V Most inexpensive chargers will continue to charge them up to 4.5V, slowly so once the charge light goes green you can safely remove them, but if you leave them overnight you might have a nasty surprise.

 

If you Google Li-ion battery safety, you'll find lots of information.

 

Harvesting batteries from old laptop battery packs is the most risky method of getting these type of battery and usually gives 'worn out' Li-ions which will have poor performance compared to new ones. If in doubt, don't use them.

 

I've done it and still use these harvested cells (checking the voltage regularly), I'm just saying be careful if you do, and do your research first.

[nightvision 2]

Cheers for that info Subwoofer... let us know how u get on ...

[quicksilver 0]

Hi John

 

I should be able to get a go with the longer range version of the nd3 when you are up in a few weeks. I cant remember the exact model of the unit

[kenny14 656]

Also: Whilst on the subject of saving money. Most of these torches use 3.7v 16850 type batteries. The best source for these are old Laptop battery packs Go to your IT dept in work or call in to a PC repair shop and ask if they have any old laptop battery packs, break them open and you should find ten or so of these batteries inside, one or two will be dead but the rest will charge up and keep the full charge. Obviously don't go paying for the battery packs!!!

 

I'd just like a add a quick note here that the 18650 is a lithium battery and does require some care when using them as they can be very dangerous. Improperly treated cells can explode or start burning, and with lithium, nothing will really put it out once it starts.

 

It is important to monitor the voltage. Don't use any where the voltage is below 2.75V, recycle these. And never charge above 4.2V Most inexpensive chargers will continue to charge them up to 4.5V, slowly so once the charge light goes green you can safely remove them, but if you leave them overnight you might have a nasty surprise.

 

If you Google Li-ion battery safety, you'll find lots of information.

 

Harvesting batteries from old laptop battery packs is the most risky method of getting these type of battery and usually gives 'worn out' Li-ions which will have poor performance compared to new ones. If in doubt, don't use them.

 

I've done it and still use these harvested cells (checking the voltage regularly), I'm just saying be careful if you do, and do your research first.

 

 

That's interesting, and definitely worth knowing. Thanks